Portable insulation slitting tool



Patented Dec. 25, 1945 PORTABLE INSULATION SLITTING TOOL Carl V. Lundeen, Towson, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 8, 1944, Serial No. 530,165

2 Claims.

This invention relates to portable insulation slitting tools and has for its object the provision 2f new and improved portable insulation slitting One tool embodying the invention comprises a body member, a handle rigidly secured to the body member, a second handle pivotally secured to the body member, an insulation slitting knife carried by the pivotally mounted handle, and means for guiding a cable past said knife, whereby the knife slits the jacket of the cable.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tool embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof, and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a cable slit by the tool.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, a handle l0 (Fig. 1) is pivotally mounted on a plate H by a bolt I2 and has a pair of aligned guide pins l4 and I5 secured thereto. A second handle I6 is rigidly secured to the plate I I. The handle 10 may be pivoted toward or away from the handle [6 and is limited in its movement toward the handle I6 by an abutment I! formed on the plate ll, against which abutment the guide pin l4 strikes.

The handle II] has a transverse passage l9 formed therethrough substantially midway between the pins l4 and I5. A cutting blade is adjustably secured by a set screw 2| in the passage 19 in such a position that a cutting edge 22 formed on the inner end of the blade projects beyond the guide pins !4 and I5.

A roller 25 having a concave groove 26 formed in the periphery thereof is rotatably secured by a bolt 21 to'the plate ll directly opposite the blade 20 when the latter is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

Two guide pins 29 and 30 are secured to the plate II in positions opposite to the pins l4 and [5, respectively, when the latter are in full line positions, as shown in Fig. 1, and in such positions that a cable passing over the roller 25 tangent to the bottom of the groove 26 is tangent to the pins 29 and 3B. The pins 29 and 30 are positioned substantially equal distances from the roller 25.

In the operation of the tool described hereinabove, the handle Ill is pivoted to a position similar to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the end of the insulated cable 35, having a jacket 36 of a suitable insulating and waterproofing material formed over a conductor core 31 thereof, is placed in the groove 26 and against the pins 29 and 30. The handle l0 then is turned to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, thereby forcing the cutting edge22 through the jacket 36. This movement of the handle I0 is limited by the pin l4 striking the abutment l'l. Thus,

the cutting edge penetrates entirely through the jacket 36 but is prevented from penetrating the core 31.

he end of the cable is pulled out of the tool, and as the cable is so pulled, the handle I0 is held in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and the cutting edge 22 slits the end of the jacket 36 parallel to the axis of the cable, thus forming a slit 38 (Fig. 3) in the jacket 36. During this operation, the roller 25 rotates freely on the bolt 21 and thus does not retard the movement of the cable through the tool. During the slitting operation, the guide pins l4, I5, 29 and 33 maintain the end of the cable 35 substantially perpendicular to the cutting blade 20, thereby preventing any movement of the cable 35 with respect to the cutting edge 22 which might cause the cutting edge to damage the core 31 or might prevent it from cutting completely through the jacket 33. The cable 35 is held in the groove 26 by the pins l 4 and I 5 during the slitting operation and is held by the roller 25 against the cutting blade 20. Thus, the tool forms a slit in the end of the jacket 36 parallel with the axis of the conductor 35 and completely through the jacket while preventing any damage to the conductor core 31 from the cutting edge 22.

The position of the cutting blade 20 may be adjusted to compensate for wear or to accommodate cables having jackets of different thicknesses.

What is claimed is:

l. A portable tool for slitting the insulation of rubber jacketed cables or the like, comprising a body member, a handle rigidly secured to the body member, a second handle pivotally secured to the body member for movement toward and away from the first mentioned handle, a roller having a groove therein rotatably mounted on the body member, a pair of guide pins secured to the body member in such a position that a line tangent to the pins is substantially tangent to the groove of the roller, a cutting blade secured to the second handle for movement toward and away from the roller as that handle is rotated toward or away from the first mentioned handle, and a pair of pins secured to the second handle on either side of the cutting blade with the end of the cutting blade extending beyond the peripheries thereof, said body member having a stop formed thereon for limiting the movement of the second handle toward the first mentioned handle.

2. A hand tool for slitting the insulation of rubber jacketed cables or the like, comprising a plate, a roller rotatably mounted on the plate and having a, concave groove in the periphery thereof, an elongated cutting blade having a cutting edge formed on one end thereof, a handle rigidly secured to the plate, a second handle pivotally secured to the plate for movement toward and away from the roller, means for adjustably securing the cutting blade to the second handle with the cutting edge projecting beyond the sec ond handle, a pair of guide pins secured to the second handle at spaced points from the cutting blade, and a second pair of guide pins on the plate and spaced from the roller, said plate having an abutment formed thereon for limiting the movement of the second handle toward the first mentioned handle.

CARL V. LUNDEEN. 

